Category: Fat Beats

Interview: Blu

Blu Grown Up Rap InterviewBlu is constantly releasing new music, but 2018 has been a particularly busy time for the prolific LA emcee and producer. Fresh off the release of Godz in the Spirit, Titans in the Flesh, with Nottz, and The Blueprint with Shafiq Husayn; Gingerslim spoke to Blu about the diversity in his music, new projects, older albums and more.

You’ve always kept it pretty varied from project to project in terms of the overall sound and production choices. Is that important to you, to keep mixing things up like that? 

Yes, consistency is very important for each project, and diversity is needed for each project. I do not try to repeat myself or redo myself. I look at every album as another day in my life. Some of my fans can kick it with me for well over a week, depending on how many days out of my life they get familiar with.

Is that one of the keys to longevity do you think? 

No, not the key, but an option. The question is, is longevity my option in this game? Am I trying to be Duke Ellington with 200 albums, or more modest like a D’Angelo, who has just three albums in over 20 years.

And does each project come with a different way of working, depending on who you’re working with, or do you have a fairly formulaic approach to writing and creating them? 

What I really treasure behind most of the records I record is the joy of working with just one producer. It creates a certain diversity between each project, that you could pinpoint almost immediately, and you can bet on consistency from start to finish.

Your most recent release is The Blueprint alongside Shafiq Husayn. Can you give us a bit of background on the project? It’s a mixtape of sorts right? 

It’s an album, but it’s also a mixtape. It’s the continuation of my idea behind York. Over half of the production on that record was previously released by artists and their records. So I tapped into beats that no one else had access to, so it gave it a sense of exclusivity. But since the beats have been released, it could also be considered more of a mixtape. Me and Shafiq have always planned to work…this was our first jab at it and I think it’s gonna make an impact on quite a few of our listeners out there.

I remember reading an interview with you and Exile, where he said that sometimes you have to get rid of classic songs to make a classic album, in reference to making, Below the Heavens. That must take some vision and a lot of resolve, being able to see past the strength of the song on its own. 

Most definitely. Creating a record with that type of foresight is easier said than done, but a key part of how we work together. Like I was dying to put certain tracks on Below The Heavens that were dope, but didn’t quite fit the narrative or vibe, so we put ‘em to the side. That’s why we dropped, In The Beginning, which was a batch of gems originally recorded for BTH, that we never had a chance to release during its era.

I think for me at the time, NoYork was a very challenging and experimental album and the features made it seem like you were a co-star rather than driving force behind the album. Does that ring true with how you made the album? 

Nah, not at all. That album never came to full fruition. What was ultimately released was the demo’s for NoYork, which due to label complications we never had the chance to finish. Everyone featured knew these were demos. But at the end of the day, people liked the promo tape so we released it in demo form.

How hard was it to encapsulate the L.A. beat scene on a single record?

It was tough. But can you imagine if we actually created that record properly with the allotted budget, and everyone on gear?! Man! I don’t think people realized that we brought in the entire LA beat scene for that album. I wish we could do it again. The movie for it was crazy!!

There was another interview I read where you said you keep your experiences as a father completely separate from your art. I was wondering why you decided to do that, as a lot of art is inspired either directly or indirectly by what the artist is going through in life.

I feel I’m very open, or at least that I’ve grown to be in some of my newer records. I talk a lot about being a father and not being a father, it comes with the anvil of honesty in my art. I can never not be true, I’m Blu.

Is it hard to keep the two separate like that?

No, but I can imagine that trying to be someone you’re not, can become very difficult after a while. I’m me, so I do that until that doesn’t work. Right now, in Hip-Hop it’s working, so I’m doing Hip-Hop!

You never struck me as the sort of rapper who was out to achieve fame, at least not in the sense that you would be well-known and recognized. Would you say that’s a fair assessment? 

I already “blew up” in my mind. I been getting crowds of respect since high school so it’s a part of who I know I am, a part of my cool.

Is there anything left on your Hip-Hop bucket list that you would still like to cross off, dream collaborations and shows, or anything like that? 

Dilla, I just gotta say his name, cause he would’ve topped that list. DJ Premier and Prince Paul, G.

And what’s next for you? You’ve already got two releases under your belt this year, so you going to take a rest now, or are you already plotting the next move? 

I got eight albums unreleased under my belt right now, working on two more. It don’t stop, it won’t stop, it can’t stop.

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Godz in the Spirit, Titans in the Flesh, The Blueprint and In The Beginning: Before The Heavens are all out now. Follow Blu on Twitter here. 

Gingerslim has been a hip-hop fan since 1994 and has written for various blogs and websites since around 2006. During that time he has contributed to style43, Think Zebra, Headsknow and Front Magazine. His main interests in rap are UK hip-hop and the underground movement in America, with a focus on Rhymesayers Entertainment and the once mighty Def Jux label. He lives in Bristol and has a beard. All other details are sketchy at best. Follow him here. 

Interview: Matt Diamond

Matt Diamond
New York native Matt Diamond is a busy man, running an influential music marketing company and a label, Coalmine Records. We talked to him about Coalmine’s latest project, Beats, Mines and Life: An Instrumental Journey, the history and ethos behind the label, and more.
Tell us about the concept behind Beats, Mines and Life: An Instrumental Journey.
Shouts for the Q&A. And lemme take a moment to give credit where it’s due, but I appreciate the day-in, day-out work you’ve been puttin’ in for the site. You’ve carved out a nice niche for where the dope shit could live in cyberspace. As for Beats, Mines and Life, I wanted to get a new project off the ground quickly to christen Coalmine’s new deal with EMPIRE Distribution, before we start getting into some of our full-length projects. Conceptually, I just thought it would be fresh to put the spotlight on the producers we’ve worked with over the years in the form of a beat tape, and highlight some of the more standout instrumentals off our catalog.

It feels like something of a pet project. Is it an idea you’ve had for a while?
I first toyed with the idea during the summer and thought a beat tape would not only be a quick and easy way to drop some content, but would also be fitting to drop on cassette in time for Cassette Store Day. So from there came the fun part of digging through our catalog and curating the tracklist.
The scope of producers included is pretty epic. How did you decide on the list of tracks to include?
I first cut my teeth as a deejay, so it comes pretty natural for me to group tracks together. I didn’t dig too far back into our catalog, so mostly everything’s from the 2nd half of our label’s history…or the past five years. But I wanted to make sure that I represented a good balance of the producers we’ve worked with, while sonically making sure all of the tracks fit. It was a bit of a jigsaw puzzle, but if you give it a listen, you could get a good sense of how most of the instrumentals just work really well together in sequence. I know I’ve done my part when after just a few listens you could sense the next track come in before it drops.
Did you have to make any tough choices, leaving some strong contenders out of the mix to make sure the tracklist was kept succinct?
Yah there were a couple tough choices. I was most torn between going with the original, M-Phazes produced version of Perfect Timing, or the Max I Million remix. I love ‘em both, but decided on the latter; M-Phazes is already well represented on the project with four other instrumentals, and the remix I thought worked really well in sequence.

Other than that, I was a bit indecisive on which Thelonious Martin-produced track off Molotov (Saga & Thelonious Martin) to use, but the vibe of They Don’t Know was the perfect closer. It wasn’t until after I was decided on the tracklist that I made the connection between the last track and the album title. Thelo used the same Minnie Riperton sample for Inside My Love that ATCQ used for, Lyrics to Go, so that pretty much sealed the deal, considering that the album title is a play on ATCQ’s fourth album.
BEATS MINES LIFE TAPE
I recently read an interview with Blockhead, where he was asked if there’s still a place for instrumental Hip-Hop. In my opinion there definitely is, but I’m intrigued to hear your thoughts.
Haha, I know that interview you’re talking about. Overall, I think you could reach a broader audience with instrumentals – not everyone is a fan of rap, but a great beat will resonate with almost any music lover. There’s also a lot of incredible production that just isn’t rap friendly. Ya know, the type of beats that sound incredible by themselves, but either just don’t work, or are too busy to be accompanied by vocals.
But I think a lot of music platforms realize the impact and significance of instrumental Hip-Hop. Spotify’s dedicated more space for instrumentals, with a rollout of new playlists; Lofi Hip Hop, Chill Instrumental Beats, and Trap & 808 Instrumental Beats. Longstanding vinyl retailer/distributor Fat Beats has been showcasing their homage for instrumental Hip-Hop as of late with their producer’centric vinyl series, Baker’s Dozen (listen to these installments from Ras G and Marco Polo). And then, of course, there’s the Beat Society showcase, which is dedicated to the fine art of beatmaking, and has been doin’ its thing since the early/mid-aughts.
What’s interesting about Beats, Mines and Life: An Instrumental Journey is that, for someone like me who was already familiar with the vocal version of many of the tracks, you get a different perspective now, focusing your ear on the beat rather than the lyrics. Was that part of the intention?
I think inevitably that was part of the intention. When music can exist as an unscripted open vacuum, it could take on an entirely new meaning. I’m usually always amazed when I hear the full instrumental version of a track for the first time, after first being only familiar with the vocal version. Sometimes the difference is really subtle, like being able to single out the bassline with a bit more clarity. Other times the difference is night and day, like when the vocals drown out the sample, and the instrumental track takes on a new form.
I also think that by lumping these beats together on one project, sans vocals, you get a greater understanding of our sound and our brand as a label. And akin to the artists we work with, there’s a certain pulse that remains somewhat constant, a common denominator of sorts that binds our releases together. Beats, Mines and Life helps bring that pulse to the forefront.
For those not familiar with Coalmine Records as a label, can you give us a potted history?
As a quick rundown, I launched Coalmine in ’05, solely with the intention of dropping a couple vinyl singles here and there. I couldn’t have picked a worse time – vinyl sales were in a sharp decline, and everything was starting to become digital. But I stayed the course, soaked up game, and would eventually release a bunch of full-length projects. After doing this for over a decade now, we’ve released full projects to date with the likes of Blu & Nottz, Guilty Simpson & Small Professor, Planet Asia & DJ Concept, Sean Price (RIP) & M-Phazes, Saga & Thelonious Martin, El Da Sensei, Bekay, Aaron Rose (Pro Era), and more, and have worked with everyone from the likes of Pharoahe Monch, C.L. Smooth, Kool G Rap, Large Professor, Masta Ace, Skyzoo, Rah Digga, The Artifacts, Talib Kweli, Heltah Skeltah, Big Noyd, Supernatural, Roc Marci, AG, Apathy & Celph Titled, The Beat Junkies (DJ Babu, DJ Rhettmatic), DJ Revolution, and a bunch others. Since 2013, all of our releases have been emcee/producer collaborations, and I don’t intend on that to change anytime soon.
To get a good idea of what we’re about, press play on our decennary compilation LP, Unearthed, which is mixed by the incredible DJ Revolution. I’d like to think of this as our label’s Soundbombing II.

What’s next up for the label?
We have our first 10-Inch vinyl release planned for Record Store Day/Black Friday (11/24). I’m gonna keep the details on this one a secret for the time being. To kick off the new year, we’re gonna drop our final installment from Blu & Nottz, which will conclude the series. And earlier this year, we announced a collab LP from Diabolic & Vanderslice which should see the light of day sometime next year. But we always have something new in the works, and if it’s not a full-length project, we’re usually releasing something on 45 for either of the two Record Store Day holidays, so just follow us online and you’ll be kept in the loop.

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Beats, Mines and Life: An Instrumental Journey is out now. Cassette copies were sold our for a while, but they are currently back in stock at Fat Beats here. Follow Coalmine Records on Twitter. 
Interview by Grown Up Rap Editor Ben Pedroche.

Wun Two – ‘Noite’ + album stream

wun-twoThe Baker’s Dozen series from Fat Beats has been nothing short of impeccable so far, with highlights include beats from Dibia$e and Ohbliv. The trend of good shit continues with the latest installment, this time from Wun Two. Watch the video for Noite below, and stream the full album further down.